Often Imitated, but Never Duplicated

On the episode of The Black Language Podcast, the host Anansa dives into language appropriation through the comparison of Rachel Jeantel and Bhad Bhabie and speaks about the false claim that African American Language is stan/twitter/internet language.

Rachel Jeantel was the 19 year old Black, Haitian star witness in the trial of George Zimmerman in 2013. She was under much scrutiny for her use of African American Language. Danielle Bregoli, also known as Bhad Bhabie, went viral after her catch phrase "cash me ousside, how bout dat" went viral during her appearance on Dr. Phil as a 13 year old white girl who exhibited violent behavior towards her mother, Dr. Phil, and the audience. Bhad Bhabie's use of African American Language landed her a record deal with Atlantic records and placements on the Billboard Hot 100. This is a very different outcome from Rachel Jeantel's. Again, we are shown that mainstream American culture loves Black culture, but not Black people.

Language appropriation of Black people is not simply language borrowing, unfortunately, it comes with the erasure of Black people. Again, the push to promote stan/twitter/internet language, instead of recognizing that the language used on social media comes from Black people is an example of that erasure.


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Language and Linguistics on Trial: Hearing Rachel Jeantel (and other vernacular speakers) in the Courtroom and Beyond by John Rickford and Sharese King

CNN Video: Does Rachel Jeantel's body language speak volumes?

Dr. Phil Segment featuring Danielle Bregoli

Linguistic Profiling